Mama Kate
by DisneyCastleFriends18
Summary: Kate and Castle have been married for just over a year and Alexis is still in high school. Castle is away on a book tour when Alexis has a rough day at school.


**A/N: Hello readers. On my way home from work, I had a story idea come to mind. It's only going to be a one-shot. This is not in connection to my current multi-chapter story "I Need You". I really enjoy the moments between Kate and Alexis. I just wish there was more of that during the show. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little story.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. Castle will always belong to Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC.

 **Mama Kate**

Richard Castle is a best-selling mystery novelist. He lives at home with his beautiful wife, Detective Kate Beckett, and his beautiful red-headed daughter, Alexis Castle. Rick and Kate have been married for just over a year. Castle is currently out of town on a book tour. He is scheduled to be gone for 2 weeks. He has currently been gone for 2 days. Castle calls Kate every day to say hi and to see how things are going at home. But, not just that, he misses his wife.

Kate had the day off work, so she spent it lounging around reading one of her husband's books. She had thought about going for a run in Central Park, but then decided to stay home and relax. She even managed to sleep in past 8am. That never happens. After she had made herself some coffee to go with her breakfast, she picked up her copy of _Heat Wave_. It was the first book Castle had published, about an NYPD detective, based on her.

Kate was enjoying the book, just as much as she did the first time she read it, even though she wasn't too keen on the idea of having a character based off her, let alone the name, 'Nikki Heat'. She was so into the book she didn't even hear Alexis come home. The noise coming from the kitchen was what caught Kate's attention. Kate marks her place, closes the book, and sets it down on the coffee table. She turns around and sees Alexis in the kitchen. "Hey, bud." Alexis was too quiet. She didn't say anything. Kate gets up from the couch to walk over to Alexis. "What's wrong, bud?"

Alexis is holding a spoon in her hand, then walks over to the freezer to take out a carton of ice cream. She didn't even bother to get a bowl. Kate looks around and sees things sitting on the counter. Kate sees: marshmallows, sprinkles, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, and whipped cream. Once Kate sees that Alexis had taken a carton of ice cream out, without getting a bowl, she knew something was wrong. Before Kate can say anything Alexis answers. "I had a rough day. A bad day, if you will."

Kate takes a seat at one of the stools at the kitchen counter. "Oh, what happened?"

Alexis starts adding her other ingredients to her ice cream carton. Alexis would have liked to go for something stronger, like alcohol, but she's still under-aged. In fact, she's still only 18. "There is this group project." Alexis stops and just stares into the ice cream.

Kate was waiting for Alexis to say more, but she didn't. So, Kate prompts her. "And? What happened with the group project?"

Alexis sighs and takes a spoonful of ice cream and puts it in her mouth. Once she swallows the ice cream she continues. "Well, I had my part of the project. We all have our parts of the project. When we first got into groups, we split the tasks evenly, so it was fair." Kate nods to let Alexis know she was following. "Today, the teacher decides to give us more stuff to do, to add to our project."

"Ok, and then what happened?"

Alexis grips the spoon in her hand tighter. "The entire group gave the new tasks given today, to me. They didn't even think about splitting them up, or even try to work on them together. So, now I have the most responsibility in my group."

"Well, do you think they gave you the tasks because they trust you?"

Alexis gives Kate a shrug. "I don't know. I think it's because they're lazy. They just don't want to do any more work than they have to."

Kate sighs and thinks about what she's going to say. "Sweetie, I know how hard of a worker you are. You give your everything to anything that gets thrown at you." Kate gets off the stool to walk around the counter. She takes hold of Alexis' free hand, while Alexis' other hand holds the ice cream. Kate walks Alexis over to the couch. "Sit down, bud." Kate rubs her hands together, trying to channel her inner mom. "You may be right that the others don't want to do any more work than they have to. But, sweetie, you should speak up. Let your teacher know that you need help. But, maybe try talking to your other group members first. It's not fair to you that you have to take on all of this responsibility."

Alexis puts the ice cream down on the coffee table, making sure not to get Kate's book wet. "I don't know, Kate. I know how I am. I feel like I need to finish what was given to me, no matter how much I don't want to and just wish I could walk away."

"Alexis, you are a strong young woman. But, you're not Wonder Woman or Super Woman. You are you and this is just going to stress you out even more than you already are."

"I suppose you're right. But, I just feel like my group and my teacher expect so much from me." Alexis drops her chin to her chest and gets tears in her eyes. "When I look at all the other groups, they're helping each other out. They're making it easier for themselves. Why can't that happen with me?"

"Alexis, look at me. How many of your classmates know how incredible you are? What about your teacher? I know how amazing you are and how hard you work. Maybe, you're the best. Maybe your group members have a better chance at getting a good grade with you taking the lead."

"That's not fair though! They can't always rely on me! Like you said, I'm not Wonder Woman. And I'm not. I can only do so much. I am human after all. If they put all this pressure on me and responsibility, there is a higher chance that we all fail. I can't carry the team all by myself."

Kate reaches over to hold Alexis' hand. "Shh, I know, bud."

Alexis starts to cry. "Why can't anybody help me? I might be strong, but I'm not that strong. I can also be an emotional person. I just…"

Kate scoots closer to Alexis to wrap an arm around her. "I'm sorry bud. I don't know what to say."

"I feel like they're trying to torture me. Like they want me to break, like they want to see me fail."

Kate sighs. She really is at a loss for words. "Hmm. You want to know why I think, you think you might break?"

Alexis looks up at Kate with a tear stained face. "Why?"

"It's because you care, bud. You care about how your work turns out. You want to do the best that you can. You don't know how to settle for anything less. You're just like your dad in that way. He wants to make sure that his writing is to the best of his ability. He may procrastinate, but he still wants to deliver his best work."

Alexis buries herself into Kate's shoulder and wipes away her tears. "It's still too much for me though."

"Ok, so talk to the people in your group. Ask them to help you. It's a group effort. It's teamwork. And if they don't help you, talk to your teacher. Let the teacher know that you did most of the work and then let your teacher decide how to grade the rest of your group. It's not fair that they get the same grade as you, if they did little to no work."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I feel like I'm doing everything."

"That's not fair to you. You are a hard worker. And because of that, that doesn't mean you should have to do everything. You're a smart young woman. You'll figure this out. And if you ever need me, I'm always here. Do you feel better now?"

Alexis lifts her head off Kate's shoulder to wipe away the rest of her tears. "Yeah. Thanks Mama."

Kate gives Alexis a questioning look. "Mama? I've never heard that one."

Alexis gives a little shrug. "Eh, I was just trying it out to see how it sounded. And it sounded a little weird. At least to my ears."

Kate nods. "Yeah, it was a bit strange. I'm so used to hearing you call me, 'Kate'."

Alexis looks Kate in the eye and gives her a shy smile. "Well, how about 'mom' then?"

Kate shakes her head and chuckles. "You can call me whatever you want. Just as long as it's nothing bad."

Alexis smiles and gives Kate a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks again… mom."

"Always, sweetie. Always." Kate looks at the ice cream still sitting on the coffee table. "Well, now let's finish this ice cream before it completely melts."

 **The End**


End file.
